What I Heard About Iraq (A Cry For 5 Voices) Gets Worldwide Readings to Observe Invasion

By Ernio Hernandez
17 Mar 2006

Theatres across the globe are uniting to present a worldwide reading of What I Heard About Iraq (A Cry For 5 Voices) March 20 that will commemorate the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

Hollywood's Fountain Theatre — which presented the world premiere of the work — organized the international event with the internationales literaturfestival berlin and the Peter Weiss Foundation for Art and Politics.

The work, based on the Eliot Weinberger article which uses actual quotes about the invasion of Iraq from politicians to soldiers to Iraqi citizens, debuted Sept. 11 at the California venue. Simon Levy directed his adaptation of the galvanizing article which was originally slated to end Oct. 9. Stephen Sachs produced.

In January of 2005, Weinberger penned "What I Heard About Iraq" which ran in the London Review of Books and in Fellowship magazine in the United States. The article which continually repeats the phrase "I heard" uses quotes directly from politicians, military chiefs, U.S. soldiers and Iraqi citizens as does the stage version. The work serves as a commentary on the truth and lies revealed over the course of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

"The play is neither fiction nor speculation; it takes us into the war and confronts us with the human drama, the human toll," said director-adaptor Levy in a statement. "This is not about history or about something going on 'over there.' This is about what's going on here, in America, now."

Among the venues planning to present the work (March 20, unless noted otherwise) are:

United States

  • Albany, NY: Siena College's Foy Theatre, March 20 at 8 PM. (518) 783-4242 or jbbenitz@aol.com
  • Arcata, CA: D Street Neighborhood Center, March 19 @ 4:30 PM. Becky Luening at (707) 826-9197
  • Atlanta, GA: The 7 Stages Theatre, www.7stages.org or (404) 523-7647
  • Buffalo, NY: Subversive Theatre, www.subversivetheatre.org
  • Houston, TX: First Unitarian Universalist Church, 7PM, contact Michael.Woodson@sjcd.edu
  • Indianapolis, IN: The Phoenix Theatre, www.phoenixtheatre.org or (317) 635 PLAY(7529)
  • Los Angeles, CA: The Fountain Theatre, 8PM, www.fountaintheatre.com or (323) 663-1525
  • Maui, HI: Maui Booksellers, March 19 @ 7 PM, www.mauibooksellers.com
  • New York City, NY: PS 122, March 19, www.thawaction.org
  • New York City, NY: Workshop Theater Company, s_mayers@hotmail.com - encore reading 11:30pm at Hammerstein Ballroom
  • Northridge, CA: The Theatre Guild on CSU Northridge campus
  • Oberlin, OH: Oberlin College, www.oberlin.edu
  • Portland, ME: The Portland Stage Company, 7PM, www.portlandstage.com or (207) 774-1043
  • Purchase, NY: Manhattanville College, 7PM, www.mville.edu
  • San Francisco, CA: Bird & Beckett Books & Records, 7:30 PM, Eric Whittington at (415) 586-3733
  • Santa Barbara, CA: Center Stage Theatre Paseo Nuevo Center, www.dramaticwomen.org
  • Santa Maria, CA: Allan Hancock College's Severson Theatre, Trystan Reece at (503) 515-8730
  • Seattle, WA: Poets West at Trinity United Methodist Church (in Ballard), www.poetswest.com
  • Tucson, AZ: Temple of Music, Ken Tesoriere at lyric61arts@yahoo.com
  • Venice, CA: Arts Center, Eric Vollmer at voiceinthewall@hotmail.com
  • Washington, D.C.: Extreme Exchange at H Street Playhouse, 7:30 PM

    International (visit www.literaturfestival.com for details)

  • Amsterdam, Netherlands: Bar Bodega Biblos, 8 PM, RSVP to colleen@democratsabroad.nl, for information write to: donna@theatreworksamsterdam.nl
  • Athens, Greece: Theater of Neos Kosmos, 8 PM, info@agra.gr or svergos@screenlandia.com
  • Basel, Switzerland: Literaturburo Basel, 8 PM, mjenny@tiscalinet.ch
  • Berlin, Germany: Sophiensaele, 7PM, Festsaal Sophienstraus 18
  • Brussels, Belgium: Kaaitheater
  • Calcutta, India: Tritiyo Sutra Performance Center at Gorky Sadan, 6 PM, www.tspc.in
  • Durban, South Africa: Center for creative arts university of Kwazulu-natal, email Royeoppen@ukzn.ac.za
  • Erlangen, Germany: State Library
  • Frankfurt a.M., Germany: schauspielfrankfurt, 8 PM, email Marcel.luxinger@buehnen.frankfurt.de
  • Frankfurt a.O., Germany: Writers from Frankfurt and Berlin, 7:30 PM, email klemt@hmklemt.com
  • Liverpool, England: Liverpool Methodist Church, email johndavies.liverpool@blueyonder.co.uk
  • London, England: London Review Bookshop, 6 PM, 020 7269 9030.
  • London, England: Voices in the Wilderness Mobile Street Theatre, www.voicesuk.org or 0207 837 0561
  • Luxembourg: The Theatre du Centaure, 6:30 PM (French) & 8:30 PM (English), www.theatrecentaure.lu/what.html
  • Magdeburg, Germany: theatremagdeburg, 7:30PM, Studio im Schauspielhaus, email helge.huebner@theater-magdeburg.de
  • Melbourne, Australia: Carlton Courthouse, www.lamama.com.au
  • Nicosia, Cyprus: Theatro ENA, 8:30 PM, 00357 2234 8203 or info@rooftoptheatre.org
  • Prague, Czech Republic: divadlo Komedie, March 20-25, email David.jarab@volny.cz
  • Rome, Italy: Café Lo Yeti, www.isolapedonale.net
  • Sydney, Australia: Official Sydney, 7 PM, www.squatspace.com/smic
  • Zürich, Switzerland: Theater am Neumarkt, 6PM, email dietmar.seiler@theateramneumarkt.ch

    Radio Broadcasts

  • Everett, Washington: PoetsWest - KSER 90.7, 4:30PM, March 17 & 24
  • Houston, Texas: Pacifica's LivingArt, 15-minute excerpt performed live, 11 AM, March 17.

    For more information, visit fountaintheatre.com.